Venetia Rainey reporting from Beirut and Batroun: Throughout Lebanon’s 15-year civil war and amid the current political strife, Beirutis have held fiercely to the legacy of 1960s glamour that the ‘Paris of the East’ was once famed for. Drop in to the Med-hugging capital or motor up the pine-dotted coast to discover the beach clubs serving up a slice of summer charm. Beirut proves that the best escape is often within the city limits – complete with anti-aircraft battery.
Photographer Felix Odell